Mons, Belgium: General Philip M. Breedlove, Supreme Allied Commander Europe, met with the Prime Minister of Estonia, Taavi Rõivas, during a visit to SHAPE today on February 13, 2015.

Prime Minister Rõivas was greeted with an official Honour Guard reception upon his arrival at SHAPE. He then met with General Breedlove and senior SHAPE officials, and toured the Comprehensive Crisis and Operations Management Centre (CCOMC). The CCOMC is the heart of NATO’s command and control network, responsible for anticipating, thinking, planning and reacting to significant events around the world.

Mr Rõivas and Gen. Breedlove praised SHAPE staff for their recent efforts in planning assurance measures in response to the Ukraine Crisis. The Prime Minister was also updated on the Alliance’s plans to enhance the NATO Response Force, including the establishment of a Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF).

“Estonia continues to play a key role in NATO’s response to the Ukraine crisis,” said Gen. Breedlove. “The hosting of exercises and the use of Amari Air Base for enhanced air policing have been essential to NATO’s ongoing assurance measures, which remind all of our rock solid commitment to our collective defence,” he said.